All posts tagged Texas State Fair

So, last summer I got an email from a super nice guy on the other side of the globe in Seoul, South Korea.

Cho Kyungkyu. This is him.

I get a lot of emails from readers, usually praising my talents -you’re welcome, but Cho was looking for permission to use a few pictures from ourTexas State Fair day for a graphic novel he was writing.

His book series, Omurice Jamjam (Korean for “I Love Food”), is a graphic depiction of food from around the world. It’s pretty popular, just Google. He was drawing/writing the 7th issue and currently working on a section about the cult following of corny dogs. Which led him to us. Naturally.

After reading about how much he loves Texas BBQ and the films of Robert Rodriguez, how could I say no? I love being a part of pop culture, and would much rather share pictures with actual people and not just greedy magazines looking for free content.

Of course I said,”yes“.

Then I just kinda forgot about it. People are always contacting me for the use of my pictures – most recently for a textbook on haunted objects – and I rarely ever hear anything from them again.

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Still riding the Crazy Mouse at the State Fair of Texas. (My second favorite State Fair tradition)

We always buy the picture….The one they take just as the car is about to drop.

Sometimes we ride it alone;

Sometimes a friend or 2 will join us; like the Pecks…

Or our friend, Leslie…..

Or even my brother Ben,

But this year…..

…..the carney insisted on shoving a lonely little boy in between us,

Don’t think he enjoyed it as much as we did.

(Interesting way to see how much weight we have each gained/lost over the years……I’m down about 25 pounds, and Jamie has lost just over 50. Zoom up to the fourth and fifth pictures. It doesn’t look like anyone else would fit in that cart with us)

Construction of this exceptional exhibit originated in Sichuan, China, where a team of more than 100 artisans and technical staff did preliminary work, the cradle of Chinese lantern-making. Everything was shipped to Dallas, along with a team of 40 Chinese artisans who erected the exhibit on site.

During the State Fair, tickets were $14, but now through the rest of the run (Jan 5th) they are $22.

When the sun goes down, this place comes alive with 24 different lantern installations.

Most with moving parts and some as tall as 50 feet.

The Porcelain Pagoda’s nine towering spires command attention, reaching as high as 53 feet. It’s inspired by a Buddhist temple in China, and matches the height of the original.

But look closely, this temple is composed of 68,000 pieces of porcelain dishware—plates, bowls, spoons, and cups—all hand-tied using traditional Chinese techniques.

Floating serenely in the middle of Fair Park Lagoon is the 300 foot Imperial Dragon Boat.

The entire Chinese zodiac is represented in 12 foot tall lanterns.

I’m “The Year of the Monkey”, in case y’all are wondering……..

Monkeys are “clever, skillful, successful”….and “genius” was thrown in to that definition quite a bit too…..

……no one in our group was doubting that descriptive. No Sir.

The Chinese Lantern Festival at Dallas Fair Park is open from 5:30 – 10:30 Thur – Sun in November, and every day from Dec 5 – Jan 5…….so there’s still time for a visit.